Haggen Food offers about 1,500 different kinds of wine at each of its grocery stores.

The range of choices is daunting, especially for the average — or below-average — wine drinker.

It’s never a simple choice between red and white, and the right bottle of wine can either ruin or rescue the meal.

But then there’s the price. Does an $80 bottle of wine mean it’s really eight times the quality of a $10 bottle of wine? And if so, who has the money to really enjoy good wine?

But before the economically-minded give up and reach for a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon, take a tip from the people who have made a career out of selling wine.

“There are some wonderful wines out there for $12 and under,” said Rich Dustin, owner of Libation Station in downtown Mount Vernon.

And the wines, of any price, can go with almost any kind of meal, whether it’s gourmet ravioli, pizza or even popcorn, Dustin said. He recommended a Chardonnay he sells to go with the popcorn.

Dustin said wine drinkers don’t need to fret over the price of wine. A $160 bottle of Italian wine with a 95-point rating from a wine magazine may not impress one drinker, while the $15 bottle of wine from the vineyard down the road could be liquid manna.

“It’s all personal taste,” Dustin said. “If you like it, drink it. If it hits your palate right, drink it.”

Jeff Hellam, owner of Hellam’s Vineyards in La Conner, said finding good wine for less than $20 is not impossible, it’s just a little tougher.

“It’s more difficult to find a bottle that’s outstanding,” Hellam said.

“Out of every 10 I taste, maybe one or two qualify as something I feel is particularly outstanding. There’s a lot of bottles on the market in that seven- to 15-dollar range that are really not very good.”

Hellam said the difference between a $10 bottle of wine and a $200 bottle of wine gets down to the level of care and attention the wine receives at every step before its bottled.

He said very expensive bottles of wine have hands-on attention from the vine to the bottle.

Vineyards growing grapes for high-end wines will prune inferior bunches long before they’re ripe so the plant can focus on the best grapes.

Many of those grapes are then discarded after they ripen if they don’t make the grade.

These kind of wineries make lower quantities, all of which adds up to a very expensive bottle.

Hellam said less-expensive wines are a little more streamlined, but have their own advantages.

Wine drinkers in the Northwest can buy good local wine for less than $20 from a local winery and know that, even though the grapes weren’t pampered from beginning to end, the quality will be good.

Wine drinkers also can buy a Washington wine knowing the person who made it and the farm where it comes from.

Kevin Weaver, wine and beer manager for Haggen and Top Foods, said a lot of customers rely on buying the same brand over and over to retain similar quality.

“I think there is a little less experimenting going on and more purchasing brands of wine that they are familiar and comfortable with,” Weaver said. “Especially if there isn’t anyone in the department to assist them in the process.”

And according to wine sellers in the Skagit County area, customers have become more economically conscious when they buy their wine.

Dustin said in Mount Vernon he has seen cheaper wine sell better than his expensive fair.

“I’m still selling the same amount of wine, but the bottle price is down,” Dustin said.

Sarah Walker, who works at Compass Wines in Anacortes, said customers are eating out less and cooking more at home.

“The recession hasn’t really seemed to be super detrimental to our business,” Walker said.

“With the prices at restaurants, people are buying more wine and saying home.”

At Haggen and Top Foods, Weaver said some people are even buying more expensive wines at stores instead of going out to eat.

“They know they are spending so much less than what they would spend if they were eating out,” Weaver said.

Walker said there are employees working full-time selling wine to help people make decisions.

Just come with a few pieces of information: How much you want to spend, what you’re cooking and a general idea of what you like, she said.

From there, Walker — or any wine specialist — can help a customer pick out great bottles, even some from a section in Compass Wines dedicated to wines costing less than $10.

Hellam said that small wine shops have an advantage over the thousands of options found at a grocery store.

He said he has tasted 95 percent of what he sells, so he can vouch for what’s on the shelf. And many places will allow customers to taste some of the wines before buying.

Hellam said choosing a wine at a megamart, with aisle after aisle of every kind of wine, exposes the buyer to a lot of low-quality, artificially flavored wines that are high in sulfites.

He said shoppers may ask, “Why would I buy a $20 bottle when I can buy and $8 bottle that tastes just as good, if not better?”

“It may taste OK,” Hellam said. “But if you drill down a couple layers, there’s stuff that’s not good for you.”

As customers at the Libation Station become more confident with what they like, Dustin said he pushes them to try new things and stretch their palates. But he said it doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.

“I think people are becoming more comfortable with the idea that wine is not just a luxury item,” Dustin said. “It’s not just a luxury. This is food.”

And it can go with any kind of food. Dustin said he has an inexpensive bottle of wine that’s perfect for pizza, a Chardonnay that tastes great with popcorn and one wine less than $10 that is the perfect selection for Thanksgiving dinner.

Each of the boutique shop owners and employees said they can help customers find a wine to go with anything, even if it’s a meal of macaroni and cheese because that’s all you can get your kids to eat.

For mac ‘n’ cheese, Dustin recommends a Chardonnay or a Prosecco. Walker suggested a Pinot Grisio or Albarino.

Hellam said to go straight to Italy, something Tuscan, for a nice red wine that can break down the oils between bits of cheesy noodles, because the Italians, more than anyone, understand that wine goes with food.

“They’re thinking about what foods go with their wine, what kind of meat dish, pasta dish,” Hellam said. “They eat, eat, eat. They love their wine and their food.”

Aaron Burkhalter can be reached at 360-416-2141 or .